Argentina; land of the selfish

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horacew2006

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4:23 AM, One of the most expensive parts of town. I have my windows closed and the ac on even though it's cool outside - trying to snuff out the wretched disco music being blasted from someone's flat a block away. If I am suffering at this distance, imagine the neighbours nearby! Even if I could cite building and apartment number there is no sense in calling the police. This is not London or New York where the police intervene to protect citizens against the anti-social minority. People here tolerate this sort of self-centred behaviour. It's the way of life in Argentina where the prevailing attitude is one of vanity and self-interest. Yes, I know -- if I don't like it I should leave, go back to where I came from. After all, this sort of unreasonable conduct has to be the fault of the World Bank, the IMF, George Bush and Tony Blair.
 
Weekends in this city are for leisure and fun, that is why people tolerate this horrid behaviour, basically because we think that enjoying yourself at your own place, shouldn´t be punished, however if there is somebody ill or whatever, people are very respectful of that, no need to whine and call the police really...
 
Oh, sorry. I thought respect and consideration were a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week thing. Now I get it: the rules are suspended on Friday afternoons. Anyway, I didn't sleep and now I have a headache. Will some respectful person be coming over to look after me?
 
Horacew2006...have you spent a New Year's Eve in your apt yet? Your neighbors in Recoleta couldn't care less about the noise because they are not home on the weekend. Most go to country homes...or wherever. But in the less expensive barrios, this is less apt to happen because the neighbors "police" themselves. Sad commentary, but this is life in the third world.
 
"horacew2006" said:
Oh, sorry. I thought respect and consideration were a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week thing. Now I get it: the rules are suspended on Friday afternoons. Anyway, I didn't sleep and now I have a headache. Will some respectful person be coming over to look after me?
While I was in the US, I witnessed the same situation and some neighbours called the police, they showed up, and the party was over, what I am trying to tell you here is, have you tried ringing their bell and asking them to turn the music down a little bit? I usually do that and never had any problems, I think it is very violent among neighbours to have to call the police for this. In general the attitude towards loud neighbours during the wekend is very relaxed, unless somebody is sick, etc, but usually if you ask nicely, they will consider you.
V
 
Oh, horacew2006, despite only popping into the ciber for a quickie, how could i possibly resist this post.
ive been here over 4 years, they demonstrate their behavior each and every day to me. NOt a day goes by that i dont have at least one shouting match. i fight with them each day. never had less respect for any group of people in my life!
now we are generalizing, sure i meet some great people (I love my nephews, happy, interesting kids). but i meet so many Argentines here, the majority, that are self centered, selfish. they toss their trash, they park where they want even at the pedestrian crosswalk which doesnt mean anything anyway since they will absolutely try and kill you if you use it then yell at you. they run out of a shop and walk right into you looking the other way, even when they are looking right in your direction, they still walk into you.
Throw trash, spit, puff away.
well, i guess i dont have the muse today. but i just wanted to concur. SCREAM at 4am, shout just for the sake of waking up others. no problem. nothing will happen. one little 2 door car ROOOOAAARRRs. As i left this morning, a bus goes by on my 1 lane street (peru) AND WOW, what a cloud engulfing us in black smoke. i call that selfish too. up and down each street, up and down, all over the city, doing to everyone what it did to me.
If i had to list examples i see in just 1 week, it would be a long post.
Yeah, if we all went back home, we'd still leave them to themselves and they are their worst enemy believe me.
 
JG, just hope San Telmo does not get gentrified in your lifetime. You will have to find new digs but perhaps, with worse neighbors. Yes, it can get worse. But in your building, hopefully one day they will get tired of your rantings. Not that I think you could be exaggerating. But this is not America... you are living in San Telmo. Try for one week not to say absolutely anything....except good morning. Perhaps you will throw them off balance.I like the suggestion about going to their door and asking them to turn down the music. Compliance will happen if only for a couple of hours. You may also get an invitation to join them. What works for me is 2 six-packs of beer or cheap jug wine in exchange for less disruptive noise. Notice I do not refer to it as music! Of course, I only do this at New Years and after 6.00 am when I get home from my celebration. The rest of the year, I do not hear a peep from them. I think I have been able to negotiate a fair deal.
 
I want to be clear, none of my comments were about people who live in my building being noisy. (they are selfish in their own way, costing me a bundle of money). Its a quiet building full of old people (who think my nephews could have guns and they must obviously live in the street). so they're quiet, but narrow-minded.
However, outside in Argentina, blocked crosswalks, pedestrians darting for their life, a wall of smoke (like i saw on 9 de julio friday), the noise from the roaring cars, horrible airplane sounding busses and screaming youngsters at 4am drift up to the top floor from outside. in fact, im hardly ever in someone's home or a store where the outside STAYS outside. no refuge here.
 
"JG" said:
However, outside in Argentina, blocked crosswalks, pedestrians darting for their life, a wall of smoke (like i saw on 9 de julio friday), the noise from the roaring cars, horrible airplane sounding busses and screaming youngsters at 4am drift up to the top floor from outside. in fact, im hardly ever in someone's home or a store where the outside STAYS outside. no refuge here.
JG, we've heard you utter variants of this for a looong time. I don't disagree with you, but you're rehashing the same thing repeatedly. The only purpose I can see is that it perhaps allows you to release some pent-up fury at Argentina. My question is: what is your theory for why Argentines behave the way they do? In other words, can you shed some insight on the phenomena? After all, this is what the rest of us endure, or have endured, day after day (but more stoically) -- we would like to understand it more deeply.
 
I would have gone to the door of the flat to complain if it had been possible however the noise was coming from a building about a block away. It would have been very hard to figure out the flat # and even if I could have donme so I would not have been allowed in the building. With eregard to calling the police, I would only do that as a last resort in a country where rules are followed. I doubt that the police here would take me seriously. Of course I was blowing off steam when I wrote this morning. If this had been an isolated incident I wouldn't have minded so much but it wasn't. A chronic problem here is a general lack of consideration for others. Men are good at letting women on the bus and into lifts but other than that I see a lot of boorish behaviour every day by people who think of themselves as sophisticated. I share bigbadwolf's interest in knowing WHY Argentines behave this way.
 
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